


The Gainsborough eXperiment

by sanctum_c



Series: Aerith Month 2018 [16]
Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Quatermass Experiment, Alternate Universe - Space, Gen, Space Flight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28036335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctum_c/pseuds/sanctum_c
Summary: The Gainsborough Experiment; the culmination of years of work to send a manned flight into orbit around the Planet. Aeris hires Tifa to help the project reach fruition.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough & Tifa Lockhart
Series: Aerith Month 2018 [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2009521
Kudos: 1





	The Gainsborough eXperiment

Sleep often seemed like some kind of theoretical concept these days. Certainly it often proved elusive. Perhaps Aeris could make a career out of investigating the phenomenon; if her qualifications remotely touched on that kind of subject. But she could run tests; chart how a subject (ie. her) reacted over time. Find that point where her body would shut down and time would pass without her notice. And of course the intervening steps until that happened when she became increasingly sluggish. At least until she imbibed some coffee; that was always more or less sufficient to keep her going. Until it was time for the next coffee. That or she would collapse face-down in her bed for a while. There had to be some literature on that somewhere-

Aeris shook herself. Getting distracted and procrastinating. Again. Running the launch of a space exploration mission was a magnitude of stress she would never have considered a year previous. So much to do, so many variables to check, re-check, re-re-check and then frequently replace with better ones. So many people needing endless signatures from her, or her waiting for endless signatures from everyone else.

A month remained until the launch. They had their trio of pilots ready and waiting; Cloud Strife, Sephiroth Crescent and Cid Highwind. Everything was set. If only- There were some wrinkles and potential hitches in the plans. Not least was the increasing risk of Highwind's removal from the project. It was true that he might well be the most enthusiastic and most experienced pilot. The computer systems might be largely his design. And he might have charted the courses and done half the necessary mathematics. But; his complete disrespect of any authority, refusal to spend time in the simulator, and his tendency to shirk certain essential safety systems won him no favors. He was rapidly burning through his remaining chances.

Highwind's major saving grace was that there were perilously few people they could plausibly replace him with. Unfortunately he knew that too. Shera would be Aeris's first choice, but the woman's face fell when Aeris even started putting out feelers for the notion. Space might be a point of absolute fascination for Shera (much like the rest of the division), but she unwilling or unable to consider being part of the crew. She dreamed of space but she was also adamant she would not take the first step towards it.

Distracted again; Aeris should be sorting applicants for an assistant. Offloading any of her mountain of paperwork would be a blessing at this point. Another swig of coffee and she peered at the stack of files. The temptation to do this quickly passed with some effort; picking someone based on their photograph was almost certainly a recipe for a less than qualified candidate. Though should it be? All the candidates had been through a rigorous pre-screening before she even saw the files; had to be sure they were all capable of what she needed of them. Here was Tifa Lockhart. She looked perfectly nice, attractive- Distracted! Tifa's personal statement indicated an early interest in stargazing. Good start if, not precisely the right area.

But. Difficult to overlooked that she was only in the pile because Strife passed her file on and insisted she would be perfect for the job. Aeris leafed through Lockhart's file. She was humoring Strife. Not as if- Where those really her grades? Aeris's eyes widened and she re-read the file again. She jotted down a note to get confirmation of those results. High grades did not mean anything if she did not pass any of the tests they laid out, but- Another blink. Near perfect results. Aeris leant back on her chair and studied the photograph again. Tifa Lockhart might be the perfect candidate. Too soon to give the position away, but-

Aeris put Tifa's file onto the maybe pile and started looking for anyone close.

* * *

Three months later...

"Everything's in order to start final count-down," Tifa announced and hummed a few bars from the relevant song.

Aeris stared up at the clock that had been ticking down for the last two days. "Good." She shot Tifa a grin and let out a sigh. "We're finally doing this."

Tifa smiled back. She was as good as her file, if not better and worked tirelessly in her new role. Tifa cut through the mass of paperwork Aeris had to contend so much that Aeris was able to do something not unlike the hazy concept of relaxation she remembered from the dim and distant past. This despite launch day rushing towards them like a freight train. Now the two of them stood with Shera in the control building waiting for the completion of the last checks. Way out in the distance, the towering bulk of the Shinra-26 was ready to launch; still crewed by the trio of Strife, Crescent and Highwind. The latter only had to handle a few more minutes and then there would be no stopping him. As long as he did not start smoking in the cockpit (this after the three occasions Strife prevented him from pulling out his lighter) he would go into space with the others.

Final checks completed, Aeris made her last announcements to the ground crew and the pilots. Time to make history. She gripped Tifa's hand as the rocket's engine ignited and then- Ascent. No explosion, nothing fell off of the craft; the Shinra-26 arced gracefully into the sky. The excitement became palpable as the rocket ascended and when the instruments finally indicated Shinra-26 was in a stable orbit, the room exploded into applause. Success. Tifa threw her arms around Aeris and kissed her cheek. And now perhaps there was time to think about how things had been going with her assistant...

* * *

And it had all been going so well. The Shinra -26 crew were almost out of radio range when Crescent seemed to make mention of something outside the capsule. "Shinra-26, repeat last transmission," Aeris said frowning. There was no way he could have said what she thought. Was there?

"Some.... ing, I can.. ...te-" A burst of static and a heart-stopping metallic clang. Not a comforting noise. And not a noise easily caused in the confined space of the rocket. "...on....ter...ull. ...Strife, ca... see.....?"

A storm of static swept over the radio. "Shinra-26, please repeat last transmission?" Let this be a prank or a mistake. Anything. She would yell at them all when they got back. If they got back.

"Wha.... k," Highwind yelled as Strife yelled something indecipherable.

A barrage of metallic clangs sounded from the speaker. "What is that?" Aeris demanded, forcing herself to stay silent after the question, to not hit the call button and chase for a response. Nothing. The crew were silent.

"Aeris?" Tifa looked worried. "They've moved outside of transmission range."

Now the Planet was between them and the rocket. Nothing on the radio but the distant roar of other stars. Nothing from the Shinra-26. No transmitters over that side of the world. Nothing they could do now but wait for them to answer when they were in range again. If they ever were. Tifa reached out and took Aeris's hand. Aeris laced their fingers together, but the worry remained. Had she sent three men to their deaths?


End file.
